The Demand Side of Hiring: Employers in the Labor Market

Posted: 14 Aug 2017

See all articles by David Bills

David Bills

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Valentina Di Stasio

University of Oxford

Klarita Gërxhani

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR); University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB); University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS)

Date Written: July 2017

Abstract

Sociological research on labor markets has focused most of its attention on the supply side of the labor market, that is, the characteristics of job seekers and job incumbents. Despite its pivotal and we believe primary role in labor market processes, the demand side, in particular the hiring decisions made by employers, has received less attention. The employment relationship, however, comprises both the demand and supply sides, as well as the matching processes that bring these together. We consider the sociology of the demand side by considering three sources of information (human, social, and cultural capital) that employers charged with making hiring decisions seek out, as well as the mechanisms associated with each source. We conceptualize employers as active agents whose hiring behavior is both constrained and enabled by larger social, organizational, and institutional contexts. We call for a program of research that will lead to a fuller empirical and theoretical understanding of employer hiring behavior and its place in the stratifying of labor markets.

Suggested Citation

Bills, David and Di Stasio, Valentina and Gërxhani, Klarita and Gërxhani, Klarita, The Demand Side of Hiring: Employers in the Labor Market (July 2017). Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 43, pp. 291-310, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3018125 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081715-074255

David Bills (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Valentina Di Stasio

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Klarita Gërxhani

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) ( email )

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185
Amsterdam, 1012 DK
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/k.gerxhani/

University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) ( email )

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185
Amsterdam, 1012 DK
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/k.gerxhani/

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS)

Amsterdam
Netherlands

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